ACTIVE OUTDOORS: West coast bothy night is one to remember
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It’s not always an easy task to get children out to enjoy the wonders of the wild – especially when there might be bugs around.
A night in a bothy with my lot is one challenge I hadn’t yet mastered, with three children who all have differing levels of enthusiasm for such a treat.
To illustrate that, one of them took four days of gentle persuasion at the start of the October holidays to accept she was going to join us on the trip, while the youngest… well, he appeared at my bedside fully dressed at midnight the night before we were due to leave, saying it was time to go!
So, after a restless night, we finally set off the next morning for Torridon, where our plan was to meet up with a few of their friends and head out to Craig bothy, a former youth hostel – albeit a particularly remote one – on the coastal route between Lower Diabaig and Redpoint.
There was a fair amount of kit to carry in, especially with Matthew only able to carry a very small backpack while Clara and Jennifer – with a little bit of help from their friend Olly carrying her pack much of the way – are not used to carrying such heavy bags.
We also had a couple of small tents with us, in case the bothy was busy, and a bag of wood that Kristina carried in, as we were worried there might not be enough dry wood for the fire after days of rain hammering the hills.
The Craig River begins at the back of Beinn Alligin and by the time it passes the bothy and runs into Loch Torridon, it is a fairly substantial body of water. It also makes up the water supply for bothy-goers, so there was no shortage there!
Before we could start the walk from the road end at Lower Diabaig, where there is room for only about three cars to park just before the turning point, there is the drive there from Torridon village, which is not for the faint-hearted in itself!
The twisting, steep single-track road involves a series of switchback climbs and descents, with steep drops and hidden dips – great fun to drive but with even greater care needed. On a sharp left-hand bend on the steep drop to Lower Diabaig, turn right to climb briefly and continue to the parking area, just before a rusting old tractor.
The path begins a few yards before the end of the road, heading off to the right and going through two fences marked by the rusting remains of a right of way sign, which presumably once directed walkers to Redpoint, where another road stops to the north of this eight-mile stretch of coastline.
Our plan was just to walk as far as the bothy at Craig, which has been maintained by the Mountain Bothies Association (MBA) since 2006 after the youth hostel closed in 2003. It’s just short of three miles across open hillside that dips and rises on a well-made path that is easy to follow.
The weather was the best it had been for a while, but that still involved a bit of a breeze and a couple of very heavy downpours on the way north, but we were all well prepared in full waterproofs and boots.
Mixing with their friends, the children made excellent progress and Matthew, as the youngest in the party by far, led the way for a while before being helped by Freya who was encouraging him along with a fun explorers’ game.
We could see the heavy showers blowing across the wind-swept Loch Torridon before getting a soaking ourselves, but thankfully it dried up enough in between to not be too disheartening. Before we knew it, we were passing Lochan Dubh just before the steep descent to the bothy, and we caught our first glimpse of the building amongst a small band of pine trees.
The bothy itself – a late 19th century sandstone shepherd’s cottage – has a couple of washed-up buoys hanging from the trees outside as makeshift swings, while inside it is reasonably well appointed, including a living area with wood-burning stove, a small kitchen area – with no running water or cooking facilities, of course – then another large room which the MBA is still improving by the looks of it.
Upstairs there are three bedrooms, including the old warden’s room which is a large space and includes an old bed. There are two other beds in a box room immediately at the top of the stairs and a further large sleeping room to the left, which we had seven people in, with room to spare.
There’s even a toilet at this bothy, although it’s a tight squeeze to close the door of the outside facility which uses a bucket flush. That still counts as luxury in bothy terms, though.
We spent some time getting organised, and a group went down to the beach close to the mouth of the river, where they gathered some of the rope and other litter washed up from the sea.
There are a couple of ruins to see here and, according to the Scottish Bothy Walks book, there is also a Mesolithic cave and shell midden a little further north from the bothy – on the burn running down from Meall na –Uamha.
After dark the children did some reading, and we played games with other bothy visitors while we cooked dinner by candlelight and head torch. It was a memorable experience for the children and, while it was an effort to persuade all of them to come, I think they all enjoyed it in the end.
The walk out the next day was windier but thankfully it stayed dry until after we’d reached the car. Going this way, we appreciated the views over Applecross and Raasay to Skye as the sun shone down over the sublime panorama.
Despite the tiredness, the children made it back along the path in good time – without too much complaining – and were rewarded with a treat back at the community centre in Torridon before the drive home, through torrential rain!
Route details
Lower Diabaig to Craig bothy
Distance 2.75 miles / 4 km each way
Terrain Well-made mountain path on uneven ground, with stream crossings, stepping stones and rocky, sometimes steep terrain
Start/finish Road end at Lower Diabaig, Torridon
Map OS Landranger 24; OS Explorer 433
An overnight adventure staying in a former youth hostel in remote ground west of Torridon
Click here to see the route in OS Maps
